rick_lindsey
Member
Whee! Had what started out as a fruitful session in the shop this eve. Another member of the woodchippers club wanted to see what pen turning was all about, so after I gave him the "keep your salt shaker handy because I'm almost as new at this as you are" spiel we proceeded with the blind leading the blind . We cut, drilled, tubed, and milled an african mahogany blank for him, and I gave him my leftover walnut "practice blank" that had been given to me by another turner in the club. Then I turned my third cocobola Euro blank. It turned out reasonably well, sanded up through the micromesh and did the friction polish thing.
Unfortunately I'm still getting an out-of-round condition, and it was especially exagerated at the nib end (furthest from the headstock). I tried to get the mandrel turning as true as I could but apparently to no avail . To add insult to injury I think I cracked the lower barrel during assembly (the nib didn't want to go on straight at first, but i didn't notice the crack until later)
I was planning to go short-mandrel and turn one barrel at a time, but I wanted to show the new guy what I'd already tried, rather than break new ground... guess I should have stuck with my original plan and used the short mandrel!
I'm starting to wonder how to make/get some bushings to turn between centers on the cheap... I was wondering if you could find a steel tubing that was a snug fit into the 7mm brass tube (which hopefuly would also be a snug fit into the bushings), and just glue a bushing to one end of a ~1" tube? I'd need another set of euro bushings since i'd need two center ones (one for each direction). It might be reasonbly easy to just put a piece of wood on the end for the bushing to hit though so I could turn the bushings around, or slip the bushings from whatever kit i'm turning onto the steel tubes, which then slip into the 7mm tube in the barrel, and the whole contraption gets compressed between dead and live centers?
Also, what's the best way to salvage the transmission and nib? I'm thinking I can just keep the top barrel and maybe turn a new bottom barrel for it, if I can salvage the kit pieces.
anyhow, thanks for listening to me whine and ramble
-Rick
Unfortunately I'm still getting an out-of-round condition, and it was especially exagerated at the nib end (furthest from the headstock). I tried to get the mandrel turning as true as I could but apparently to no avail . To add insult to injury I think I cracked the lower barrel during assembly (the nib didn't want to go on straight at first, but i didn't notice the crack until later)
I was planning to go short-mandrel and turn one barrel at a time, but I wanted to show the new guy what I'd already tried, rather than break new ground... guess I should have stuck with my original plan and used the short mandrel!
I'm starting to wonder how to make/get some bushings to turn between centers on the cheap... I was wondering if you could find a steel tubing that was a snug fit into the 7mm brass tube (which hopefuly would also be a snug fit into the bushings), and just glue a bushing to one end of a ~1" tube? I'd need another set of euro bushings since i'd need two center ones (one for each direction). It might be reasonbly easy to just put a piece of wood on the end for the bushing to hit though so I could turn the bushings around, or slip the bushings from whatever kit i'm turning onto the steel tubes, which then slip into the 7mm tube in the barrel, and the whole contraption gets compressed between dead and live centers?
Also, what's the best way to salvage the transmission and nib? I'm thinking I can just keep the top barrel and maybe turn a new bottom barrel for it, if I can salvage the kit pieces.
anyhow, thanks for listening to me whine and ramble
-Rick